Updated 5:19 pm, Thursday, July 7, 2016

Marciano Millan-Vasquez walks on May 27, 2016, to a van at the John H. Wood, Jr. Federal Courthouse. He appeared at court for a pretrial hearing.

Marciano Millan-Vasquez walks on May 27, 2016, to a van at the John H. Wood, Jr. Federal Courthouse. He appeared at court for a pretrial hearing.

Photo: John Davenport, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

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Here at the 13 things you need to know about one of Mexico's deadliest cartels, Los Zetas.

Here at the 13 things you need to know about one of Mexico's deadliest cartels, Los Zetas.

Photo: -, Courtesy

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1. Los Zetas are ex-military

The foundation of what the United States has called “the most technologically advanced, sophisticated and dangerous cartel operating in Mexico,” goes back to the Matamoros and Tamulipas-based Gulf Cartel. The group is comprised largely of former elite Mexican military and initially began as hit men for the Gulf Cartel according to CNN. less

1. Los Zetas are ex-military

The foundation of what the United States has called “the most technologically advanced, sophisticated and dangerous cartel operating in Mexico,” goes back to the Matamoros and ... more

Photo: -

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2. Where do they operate?

According to a graphic provided by Stratfor Global Intelligence Agency, the cartel occupies the gulf side of Mexico such as Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Vera Cruz, Tabasco, Campeche and the Yucatan. less

2. Where do they operate?

According to a graphic provided by Stratfor Global Intelligence Agency, the cartel occupies the gulf side of Mexico such as Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Vera Cruz, Tabasco, ... more

Photo: Courtesy Photo

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3. Leaders keep getting caught/killed

Borderland Beat reported that cartel leader Omar Trevino Morales was apprehended by Mexican authorities in early March 2015. In 2013, former Zetas cartel leader Miguel Angel Trevino Morales was arrested by Mexican authorities in Tamaulipas, according to Tamaulipas media reports. Just one year before Morales’ arrest, Mexican marines killed former Zetas leader Heriberto Lazcano in a shootout as he left a baseball game, Michael S. Vigil, former chief of international operations for the DEA, said. less

3. Leaders keep getting caught/killed

Borderland Beat reported that cartel leader Omar Trevino Morales was apprehended by Mexican authorities in early March 2015. In 2013, former Zetas cartel leader Miguel Angel ... more

Photo: Eduardo Verdugo, Associated Press

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4. Currently without leadership

According to Michael S. Vigil, former chief of international operations for the DEA, a new leader of Los Zetas has not been identified.

4. Currently without leadership

According to Michael S. Vigil, former chief of international operations for the DEA, a new leader of Los Zetas has not been identified.

Photo: JULIO CESAR AGUILAR

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5. Drug smuggling and sales

Los Zetas partake in the sale and distribution of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, however, Michael S. Vigil, former chief of international operations for the DEA, said their biggest money makers are cocaine and meth. less

5. Drug smuggling and sales

Los Zetas partake in the sale and distribution of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, however, Michael S. Vigil, former chief of international operations for the DEA, said ... more

Photo: ALFREDO ESTRELLA, AFP/Getty Images

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6. Not just drugs

Michael S. Vigil, former chief of international operations for the DEA writes in his book, Deal, that Los Zetas also participate in extortion, kidnapping and theft of Mexico’s natural resources, human trafficking and money laundering through horse racing. less

6. Not just drugs

Michael S. Vigil, former chief of international operations for the DEA writes in his book, Deal, that Los Zetas also participate in extortion, kidnapping and theft of Mexico’s natural ... more

Photo: Brett Deering, Associated Press

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7. Their "sworn enemy"

Michael S. Vigil, former chief of international operations for the DEA , said Los Zetas have been at odds with the Jalisco new Generation Cartel for a decade, calling the cartel their “sworn enemy.” So much that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel also go by “Mata Zetas,” which means “kill zetas” in Spanish. less

7. Their "sworn enemy"

Michael S. Vigil, former chief of international operations for the DEA , said Los Zetas have been at odds with the Jalisco new Generation Cartel for a decade, calling the cartel their ... more

Photo: YURI CORTEZ, AFP/Getty Images

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8. Conflict on the decline

After reaching its peak in 2011 with the New Generation Cartel’s dumping of bodies in the Boca Del Rio, the conflict between the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in Veracruz has dwindled to dormancy in recent years. Both continue to operate in Veracruz. less

8. Conflict on the decline

After reaching its peak in 2011 with the New Generation Cartel’s dumping of bodies in the Boca Del Rio, the conflict between the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in Veracruz has ... more

Photo: AP

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9. Cartel allies

While Los Zetas appear to be a stand-alone cartel on the surface, they work with many groups that originated from the Beltran Leyva Cartel, a trunk of the Sinaloa Cartel. After the Beltran Leyva brothers were either arrested, they maintained their alliances with the Beltran Leyva organization Stratfor Global Intelligence Agency’s Mexico security analyst Tristan Reed said. They’ve also worked with with La Linea in East of Ciudad Juarez and the Sierras in Chihuahua State. less

9. Cartel allies

While Los Zetas appear to be a stand-alone cartel on the surface, they work with many groups that originated from the Beltran Leyva Cartel, a trunk of the Sinaloa Cartel. After the Beltran Leyva ... more

Photo: Associated Press

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10. Easy to recruit

Former chief of international operations for the DEA Michael S. Vigil said that because of the poverty in Mexico, it’s not difficult to recruit new members. “Some feel the only way out is to get involved in the drug trade,” Vigil said. “It’s very easy to recruit these young men, their only role models are drug traffickers and they see them riding around with new cars, beauty queens wrapped around their arms and that’s what they aspire to be.” less

10. Easy to recruit

Former chief of international operations for the DEA Michael S. Vigil said that because of the poverty in Mexico, it’s not difficult to recruit new members. “Some feel the only way ... more

It was rumored that Los Zetas also went by “Los Legendarios,” but Stratfor Global Intelligence Agency’s Mexico security analyst Tristan Reed said this was perpetuated through intentional misinformation. less

12. False alias

It was rumored that Los Zetas also went by “Los Legendarios,” but Stratfor Global Intelligence Agency’s Mexico security analyst Tristan Reed said this was perpetuated through intentional ... more

Photo: Miguel Tovar, ASSOCIATED PRESS

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13. Quiet but still in control

According to Stratfor Global Intelligence Agency’s Mexico security analyst Tristan Reed, Los Zetas recently changed up their strategy moving their focus away from high profile displays of violence which sent them further under the radar. Still, Reed said this shouldn’t be confused with power slipping. While the group has suffered substantially from arrests, it is still the most powerful group in Tamaulipas and among the most powerful crime groups in Mexico. less

A federal informant who testified in a San Antonio courtroom about alleged murders and bribes carried out by the Zetas drug cartel spent part of Thursday morning explaining his appearance on a reality TV show.

It was a strange turn in the trial of Marciano Millan Vasquez, who’s facing 10 charges, including drug trafficking, and could serve life in prison if convicted.

Millan Vasquez’s defense attorney pressed Rodrigo Humberto Uribe Tapia, a self-described financial operator for the Zetas from 2007 to 2009, on his 2013 appearance on the Judge Judy-like Telemundo show “Caso Cerrado,” or Case Closed.

In the show, which centers on a supposed child custody battle, Uribe claims to be a former hit man who did time in prison. The show was filmed while he was providing information about the Zetas to the federal government.

“That show is fictitious and on the show they gave us a script,” Uribe testified Thursday. “That show, it’s basically based on a script, but none of it was true.”

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Defense attorney Jaime Cavazos asked Uribe if he still spoke with members of the Zetas at the time the show was filmed.

“I was still in contact with them,” Uribe replied. “In fact, they thought it was really funny.”

The testimony about the TV appearance was a deviation from testimony by Uribe about what he says were atrocities committed by the Zetas leadership. Uribe said he was present when Millan and other Zetas leaders discussed killings and after one had been carried out. He also testified that he was involved in passing millions of dollars in bribe money to former Coahuila governor Humberto Moreira.

He also testified that Moreira’s son Jose Eduardo, who was assassinated in 2012 in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Acuña, was killed because the Zetas’ business arrangements with the Coahuila government had broken down. The state police killed the nephew of Zetas leader Miguel “El 40” Treviño Morales and he responded by having Moreira’s son killed, Uribe said.

“I don’t know Rodrigo Uribe, the only thing I now know about him is that he participated in the show ‘Caso Cerrado’ as a panelist who talked about his life as an ‘ex sicario,’” Moreira said in a statement to Mexican media that included a link to a video of the show. “During my time in office no one I worked with offered me anything improper.”

“Stop trying to connect me to the people who killed my son,” he added.